Staining

Since the inception of our new normal routines, I've upped my diligence in all things "home."  I have more of a schedule for cleaning, watering my plants, chores, homework/reading, health care, and hygiene.  One area that I've doubled my efforts to remind is tooth care.  I'm happy to report that my kids no longer have the excuse that "my mom never tells me to."  Because we all know that it's our mothers that need to tell us to clean our teeth!

I was thrown off balance when I was told that each of my kids had significant staining on their teeth at their last appointment in May.  First of all, I had never had a problem with staining, only our lack of regular flossing.  Well, flossing at all, if I'm being honest.  I am a horrible flosser.  And Second, we had been better at regularly brushing twice a day for an extended period of time than ever before.  How could this be the first time in our lives that this has come up?

Tyson's teeth are so crowded, we've been told that he'd have more chance of cavities, even if he was the world's best flosser.  There is just no space between his teeth.  While getting a small cavity filled yesterday, the associate that numbed him up asked for a tool, saying he had a bit of staining on his teeth.  I was beyond floored.  It hasn't even been two months since his cleaning!!!  I told her that we had been brushing more the last few months than ever before, and that it surprised me that I was hearing about this after years and years of bi-yearly cleanings!  She scraped his teeth, the cavity was filled, I prepared to take my brown-toothed, brown-skinned, numbed-cheek boy home.

As we were leaving, she came in with a post-it note.  As I peeked at the top name, "Crest Pro-Health," as she was talking with someone else, I was sure that she was going to recommend that toothpaste to help with the staining.  I was super excited to tell her that that was the toothpaste we had started using about a year ago.  Look at me, choosing the best toothpaste to clean our teeth!  Come to mama, Mother-of-the-year award!!!

"This toothpaste, because of the formula that eliminates the alcohol, is known to cause staining.  Do you happen to use this toothpaste, by chance?"

Wait, WHAT?!  It's CREST!  It's TOOTHPASTE!!  It's PRO health.  And it causes staining?!  HOW can that be possible?!  How can the thing that is the cleaning agent actually be the cause of this new problem?

I dropped him off at home and drove straight to the store to replace all of our toothpaste.  It still boggles my mind!  How can that be possible?  It doesn't happen to everyone, though.  We are just blessed with the right bacteria in our nasty mouths to create the perfect environment for this staining to grow.  Of course!  Bodies that grow cancer, cars that mice flock to to die, and nasty mouths that are the breeding ground for brown stains on teeth.  Man, we sure hit the jackpot!

Please be my friend.